Crochet hook



March 1956 G. A. CARLISON 2,738,662

' CROCHET HOOK Filed June 9 1951 IN V EN TOR.

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CROCHET HOOK Gustav A. Carlson, Des Piaines, Ilh, assignor to The Boye Needle Company, Chicago, Ill, a corporation of Illinois Application June 9, 1951, Serial No. 230,784

1 Claimw (Ci. 66--11i) This invention relates to a crochet hook.

In crocheting, it is desired to provide a stabilizing or anchoring member which may be readily grasped by the user While supporting the beak of the hook in the desired direction. Flat paddle-like structures have been suggested but these are unsatisfactory in that they substantially fill the palm of the hand and areeasily rocked into undesired positions. Further, the usefulness of the long shank of the crochet needle heretofore enjoyed in centering the shank within the palm of the hand is lost. The bulky paddle-like support does not fit Within the fingers and, as stated above, tends to rock as the hand is manipulated, giving an uncertain crocheting operation.

An object of the present invention is to provide a crochet hook structure which provides the desired anchoring of the hook between the control finger and thumb While enabling the elongated shank to be held securely within the crease of the hand where it joins the fingers and without interfering with the natural bending of the fingers. A still further object is to provide such a structure in which the flattened anchor is enlarged toward the hook and tapered rearwardly so as to lie between the forefinger and adjacent finger and the thumb, thus anchoring the hook not only against lateral movement but against longitudinal movement relative to the hand. Other specific objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds.

The invention is shown, in an illustrative embodiment, by the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a crochet hook embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a top plan view; Fig. 3, a sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 33 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4, a perspective view of the crochet hook in position within the hand. i

In the illustration given, the crochet hook is provided with an elongated shank portion of relatively large diameter. At the forward end, the crochet hook is provided with a tapered throat portion 11 terminating in a hook or beak portion 12. The throat portion is preferably cut away at 13 adjacent the beak 12.

Fixed to the shank 10 at a point just rearwardly of the throat portion 11 is a flat finger anchor 14 which may be formed of plastic, resin, metal, wood, or any other suitable material. I prefer to use plastic material because of the ease with which this material can be fixed to the shank 10 of the hook.

The finger anchor 14 preferably comprises a relatively flat block provided longitudinally with a passage through which the shank 10 is extended and to which the shank 10 is secured in a friction fit or by any other suitable means. The anchor has a relatively uniform thickness throughout its entire length from face to face thereof, as is seen in Figure 3, and is greater in thickness than the shank to enable the shank to be extended therethrough. In the case of plastic, the casting of the material upon the shank 10 is found to give a permanent attachment between the parts. A metal anchor may be secured by spot-welding, solder, etc. An interlock can also 'be formed by modifying the shape of the shank 10 to fit a corresponding recess within the anchor block 14.

With the anchor block 14 secured fixedly in position against lateral and longitudinal movement, the block 14 7 2,738,662 Patented Mar. 20, 1956 may be held between the thumb and the forefinger, as illustrated in Fig. 4, while the remainder of the shank 10 extends freely under the fingers and within the crease of the palm near the finger joints. With this arrangement, the crochet hook shank rests freely in position and is not changed by flexing of the adjacent three fingers and the crease in the palm serves to hold the rear end of the shank firmly in position. The small anchor block 14 between the thumb and the finger gives accurate control of the hook by these two control fingers while the other three fingers of the hand are kept from interfering with the crocheting operation.

The anchor block 14 is preferably provided with an enlarged forward portion 15 that may be, arcuate (as seen best in Figure 2) and is substantially greater in width than the shank. The anchor is tapered rearwardly to a narrow rear portion 16 having a width substantially less than that of the forward portion. The anchor is relatively short and compared with the shank length from the rear end thereof to the throat 11 is about one-fourth of that length. With this structure, the thumb and forefinger tend to grip the forward enlarged portion 15 to hold the crochet hook against forward movement, while the second finger engages the rear portion 16' of the anchor to lock the same against rearward movement. At the same time, as stated above, the rear shank portion 10 lies freely below the adjacent three fingers and the end portion thereof is received within the hand crease adjacent the little finger. With this structure, the crocheting operation can be carried on easily and the control of the movement is caused by the anchor block 14 to be concentrated in the control thumb and forefinger. The crocheting operation is found to be thus greatly increased in efiiceincy.

While in the foregoing specification, I have set out the crochet hook structure in considerable detail for the purpose of illustrating an embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that such details of structure may be varied by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

A crochet hook having an elongated shank, a rearwardly turned beak connected to the shank by a tapered throat, and a finger anchor provided with a longitudinally extending passage therethrough receiving said shank and being locked thereon adjacent said throat, said anchor having a relatively uniform thickness from face to face thereof and being greater in thickness than said shank, said anchor having an arcuate forward end portion adjacent said throat and being enlarged at that end portion to a width substantially greater than that of said shank and tapering rearwardly therefrom toward said shank and to a narrowed rear end portion having a width substantially less than that of said forward end portion, and said anchor having a relatively short length compared with shank length from the rear end of the throat thereof whereby it terminates substantially adjacent the second finger of a person holding the hook for a crocheting operation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 53,591 Hitchcock July 15, 1919 572,809 Knippenberg Dec. 8, 1896 1,772,666 Housh Aug. 12, 1930 2,234,061 Porter et al Mar. 4, 1941 2,309,528 Otting et a1. Jan. 26, 1943 2,608,077 Suessman Aug. 26, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 20,064 Great Britain of 1896 20,090 Great Britain of 1912 136,413 Great Britain Dec. 18, 1919 187,153 Great Britain Oct. 19, 1922 

